Here is an interesting post about welcoming – offering it, and claiming it.

Our story in Genesis–and my own story, linked to it–are reminders to me of just another reason why we need to engage visitors with a little more than a nod and the Peace of Christ. It’s not that hard to engage without being annoying–Simply a “Hi, my name’s whatever, and you are…?” and an invitation to coffee hour is a good start. I have learned more things about visitors in the line to get food in the undercroft than I ever have in the back of the nave. Seems like even shy people can get chattier when the conversation turns to food.

Link: Speaking to the Soul

This is absolutely the best time to chat with a newcomer – it’s important to invite a new face to coffee first, introduce yourself, offer information without smothering, and so on. But offering a cup of coffee and a little something sweet (we usually have a variety of yummy things) to a new person means something tangible. Conversations about anything can start over a simple cup of Java and a cookie.

The chalice and ciborium used to illustrate this post, which relates to the story of Joseph and how he used a golden cup secreted in his brothers’ baggage to detain them so he could reveal his identity to them, were donated in February 2008 to St Nicholas (in Exile), Atwater CA. Photo credit Ginny Gibbs.